Zakir Hussain, a classical Tabla maestro of the
first order, has made unprecedented strides in bringing his instrument to a global
audience. Widely appreciated as an international phenomenon, his consistently brilliant
and exciting performances have established him globally as one of India's most renowned
cultural ambassadors. The favorite accompanist for the greatest classical musicians and
dancers of India, Zakir has also been a chief architect of the world music movement with
his prodigious, incomparable and historic collaborations. These include "Shakti",
with John McLaughlin and L. Shankar, the "Diga Rhythm Band", "Planet
Drum" with Mickey Hart, and recordings and performances with artists as diverse as
George Harrison, Joe Henderson, Van Morrison, Jack Bruce, Tito Puente, Billy Cobham, the
Hong Kong Symphony and the New Orleans Symphony. The foremost disciple of his father, the
legendary Ustad Allarakha, Zakir was a child prodigy who began his professional career at
the age of twelve and was already touring internationally with great success by the age of
eighteen. Zakir came to the USA in 1970, embarking on an international career which
includes no fewer than 150 concert dates a year. Zakir has been the recipient of many
awards and honors, including the "Padma Bhushan", awarded January 26,
2002, "Padma Shri", the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and the 1999
National Heritage Fellowship Award, the USAs highest award for masters in the
traditional arts. Zakir's career includes much work as a composer, having composed music
for many film scores including "In Custody", Ismail Merchants directorial
debut and Bernardo Bertoluccis "Little Buddha", and, recently, the opening
music for the '96 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He also performs and records on a dazzling
array of percussion instruments and has received a Grammy (1991 Best World Music Album)
for his part as performer, composer and co-producer of "Planet Drum", an
ensemble with which he tours regularly. His album "Saturday Night in Bombay"
with his band "Remember Shakti" has been nominated for this year's World
Music Grammy. His playing is marked by uncanny intuition and masterful improvisational
dexterity founded in formidable knowledge and study.
Fazal Qureshi
began his training early under the keen eye of this father and Guru, Ustad
Allarakha. With encouragement and inspiration from his elder brother Ustad Zakir
Hussain, Fazal has developed a style distinguished by a fine sense of rhythm, versatility
and eloquence. He has performed both as a soloist and as an accompanist in prestigious
"Sangeet Sammelans" in India as well as major festivals abroad. The
remarkable ease with which Fazal accompanies veteran as well as young Indian classical
instrumentalists, vocalists and dancers of both North and South, as well as Western
instrumentalists, speaks of the discipline and dedication with which this young, talented
artist has pursued music.
Bhavani Shankar
hails from a great musical family and began his study of Pakhawaj and Tabla
with his father, Pandit Babulalji, at the age of eight. He has accompanied a wealth
of India's greatest classical instrumentalists and popular vocalists and is a prolific
composer for films and recordings.
Selva Ganesh is
a young percussion maestro widely considered as the foremost Kanjira player of his
generation. The son of the legendary T. H. Vinayakram, India's foremost Ghatam
exponent, Selva is a child prodigy who has received widespread recognition for his
virtuosity with this instrument. His career began in 1986 at the age of 14 years. He has
been accompanying all the greats of Carnatic music such as Lalgudi Jayaraman,
Mandolin U. Srinivas, M. S. Subbalakshmi etc. For the past 3 years, he has been touring
worldwide with Zakir Hussain as part of "Remember Shakti", one of the
foremost cross-cultural collaborations of our time. This year, "Remember Shakti"
is nominated for a Grammy in the Best World Music category.
Taufiq Qureshi
is Zakir Hussain's youngest brother, one of the most sought-after rhythm programmers and
percussionists in the world of studio recordings today. His Guru and primary
inspiration remains his illustrious father, Ustad Alla Rakha. However, Taufiq, from
a very young age, was drawn to the wider world of percussion, as he watched and listened
to Zakir's fusion experiments with Shakti, "Diga" and "The Rhythm
Experience". He has performed as a percussionist with a host of international
luminaries including Jeremy Spencer of Fleetwood Mac, Sivamani, Louis Banks, Vishwamohan
Bhatt, T.H. Vinayakram, Dinshaw Sanjana, Ranjit Barot and others. He has participated in
many international jazz festivals, frequently plays with India's premier rock band,
"Indus Creed", and regularly composes music for films, TV and theater. His pet
project has been the creation of his own world-music band, "Surya", which
features versatile vocalist Shankar Mahadevan and brother Fazal Qureshi.
A. Saravanan
is a young talented exponent of the Tavil, percussion instrument of South India. He
learned the instrument from his father Sri A. Agoram and from Sri T. R. Subramanyam. He
has toured India and the Far East, accompanying many fine musicians on the classical
concert stage, including appearances with the Ghatam Vidwan, Shri T. H. Vinayakram.
Vijay Chauhan
is one of the foremost exponents of the Dholki. This premier folk percussion
instrument of Maharashtra has been played in his family for generations, the lineage
including Anna Joshi, the late Shri Baban Kale and the late Shri Lalababu. His mother
Sulochana Shamrao Chauhan is the greatest exponent of the famous Marathi folk singing
style, Lavani. Besides Dholki, he plays other folk instruments such as Duff,
Chanda, Halgi and the Dafali. He is a much sought-after musician and plays
regularly for famous composers of Hindi, Marathi and Tamil films. He has also toured
England and Australia with the great folk artist Gurdass Mann.
Special Guest:
Ustad Sultan
Khan is one of the foremost Sarangi players of India, renowned for the
emotional depth of his playing, and his extraordinary technical and melodic control over
this difficult string instrument. A scion of illustrious lineage of Sarangi
players, he began his training at age seven, learning from his father, Ustad Gulab
Khan and his first performance at the age of 11. He came to be recognized on an
international scale, performing along with Pandit Ravi Shankar on former Beatle,
George Harrisons 1974 "Dark Horse World Tour". He is a recipient of
several awards including the Sangeet Nataka Academy Award and the American Academy
of Artists Award in 1998. In 1997 he had the honor and privilege of playing for Prince
Charles' 50th birthday celebration. A widely recorded artist, he has composed and recorded
music for films such as "In Custody", and "Gandhi". He has a
longstanding creative relationship with Zakir Hussain, performing, touring, recording and
composing together for more than twenty years. |